New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-11-30
THE PENNSYLTfNI1 LESSON.

The letter Of the Hon. Thomas Y. Cooper
chairman Of the Republican State Committee
of Pennsylvania, which We printed in yes
tcrday's TRIBUNE, furnishes abundant food for
reflection to Ncw-Yorl Republicans. The Re
publican party has been grandly useful and
crandly successful whenever it has stood up
coura gcouSly for principles, without stopping to
count the cost. 1t was in this way that it won
against slavery. in the war for the Union,
against paper money, and in every great con-
test in which it has ever been engaged. II has
won in this way in every State in which the
ISSUE Of the restriction Of the liquor traffic has
confronted it. The example Of Pennsylvania
is one Of the most instructive We could have
not only because it is so recent but because the
situation in that State and here Is nearly
the same.
The hquor-dcalcrS. the Personal Liberty
party and the Democrats presented a solid
front, with quarter Of a million corruption
money, against the PcnnSy lyania Rcpubhcans
This was a combination 10 strike terror into
the heart Of the practical politician. What
did they do-faltcr. compromise, surrender
No, they exposed the plot and boldly dclicd it.
In an inSpirlting address to the people, they
renewed their pledges Of support to the High
License law they had just incurred the anger
Of the liquor dealers by passing, to the Sunday
laws, and to the submission to the people Of a
prohibition amendment. This accomplished
these things:
l. 1t aroused the law-abidng citizens in de-
fence Of n peaceful Sunday. In this way the
Germans were divided, for a large proportion
Of our German population are rs strongly OPP
posed to Sunday dcsccration rs any other re-
leious class.
H. II called TO the support Of the Republican
party all those who believed in High License.
because it would make the liquor traffic less
harmful Among these were included hotel and
restaurant keepers and proprctorS # other re-
spectacle resorts. In this way even the liquor
trade was divided, all the worst clements Of it,
however standing with the Democrats.
III. II dealt the Prohibition party a fatal
blow. in the proposed submission Of the pro-
hibition amendment, conccdIng the night Of the
people 10 make their own laws upon liquor n
upon other questions. The Prohibition vote
dropped nearly onc-haf in 4 single year lcay-
ing in the party mainly the disappointed poiiti-
clans who are there for notorlcty's sake. \
majority Of this rcSiduum it Is SAID was Demo
cratic.
". BY showing that the Personal Liberty
Leagues were controlled by Socialists, aS they
arc everywhere. all the IsracIitcS and thousands
Of other law-abdng citizens were arraycd with
the Republican party.
The result was that the full force Of the COM
binaiion, with all it's money. wrcStod only
IL. 900 votes from the Republicans On the
to the Republican party, and 5000 Democrats
joined them. One most significant fact-thc
Dcmocratic-Liquor combination policd 1900
votes more than the Republican ticket received
two years ago. The Republican vote increased
O,OOO over that Of two years ago. The Dem
ratic-Liquor combination was very strong,
but the right side Of moral issue was far
stronger.